Four Cork winners celebrated at RDS Agriculture Awards
The 2017 RDS Agriculture Awards, which celebrate the best livestock and forestry producers in the country, were revealed at a ceremony in the RDS Concert Hall, Dublin on Friday and Cork winners included one of the top prizes, the RDS Economic Breeding Index Award for Robert Troy Junior of Newtownshandrum.
Robert was joined by John and Frank Applebe from Clonakilty, Robert Shannon from Ballinscarthy and Castlemartyr’s Albert and Jennifer DeCogan who all were presented with RDS Awards for pedigree cattle.
Winning the prestigious RDS Economic Breeding Index Champion of Champions for 2017, Robert Troy’s cow Springhaven Biddy 162 EX92 has an EBI of €342. Springhaven Biddy has come to the top on the latest ‘Top 2000’ list. She has had 11 lactations with an average calving interval of 376 days, with a lifetime production of 56,908 Milk kg, 2,401 Fat kg, 4.23% Fat, 1981 Protein kg, and 3.49% Protein. She is sired by Bagworth Zander Keet and Biddy has bred AI sire FR2351 (IG) SPRINGHAVEN OTTO. Otto has an EBI figure of €311 and was on the Gene Ireland panel in 2016.
Described by some judges as being the perfect Irish Angus, Carrigroe Mr Rebel took the Irish Angus RDS Champion of Champion Award. John Applebe is the fourth generation of Appelbes to breed pedigree cattle at Carrigroe, Clonakilty. Mr Rebel is a genomically tested 5 star bull with a suckler beef value of €156 and a 5 star terminal index. He’s also a 5 star bull for docility, carcass weight, carcass conformation and daughter milk indexes. In 2015, the Carrigroe herd had nine of the top 20 ICBF Euro-star replacement index rated Angus cows in the country, with Carrigroe Dakota being the highest index cow. World Wides Sires, the biggest AI company in the world, is now selling semen of Carrigroe Mr Rebel nationally and internationally.
“An outstanding example of the Aberdeen-Angus breed” according to the judges, the RDS Champion of Champions award is a fitting way to round off a very successful 2016 show campaign for Wedderlie Blackbox J935. Last year alone, this seven year-old bull Owned by Albert & Jennifer DeCogan, secured a pair of high profile wins, clinching both the Overall Supreme Breed Championship at the AIB National Livestock Show, Tullamore and the Univet All-Ireland Aberdeen-Angus Supreme Championship at the Royal Meath Show.
The Castlemartyr bull is also a multiple recipient of the Best Stock Bull Award at the annual Munster Aberdeen-Angus Club herds competition, and has twice represented the Aberdeen-Angus breed at the season-ending National Ploughing Championships. Progeny of Wedderlie Blackbox J935 look set to emulate the achievement of their sire, with sons topping the trade at both the High Health Status sale of bulls at Bandon and the inaugural Irish Aberdeen-Angus Premier Autumn Sale – both held in 2016.
Ballinscarthy’s Robert Shannon took the Irish Holstein Friesian Association RDS Champion of Champion award for his herd of pedigree cattle. Robert has the balance of herd conformation and genetic merit that makes him the top IHFA candidate this year, with all cows in his herd being genomically tested and linear scored/classified. Robert has bred 19 of the cows on the top 2000 ICBF list. 4 of the cows are still in the herd with the remainder sold to other herds.